The Worst Kind of Betrayal
by KitFisto'sGirl
Summary: This was the worst kind of betrayal. One that could not be afforded in a time like this. After the struggle on Ryloth is won, Senator Taa breaks his promise and comes back to overtake Ryloth. Only one man stands in his way. Cham Syndulla.
1. Chapter 1

Ex-Senator Orn Free Taa looked down on his homeworld as the ship began to land. Just fresh out of the battle with the separatists, it looked peaceful, but Taa knew there were still rebellions down there. _but I will crush them with an iron fist, and take my place as the ruler of the Twi'leks. Then no one will dare defy me then! _He chuckled at this, his twisted thoughts going around in his head, as he stroked his many chins. Then, a single thought came to his head.

_Syndulla_

The name. The man. The one man who could possibly ruin his wonderful plan for the future. He knew he had to do something. But he had to get there first.

_Three months later, Cham's POV_

The world, and the war, were much worse now. People were starving, homeless, even in the capital. It was better with the sepratists here. Not that I wanted them back. It was just...

I should start at the beginning. Three months ago, Senator Orn Free Taa, after serving his amounted years in the senate, came home. Things went downhill from there. He won over the people with his charms and empty promises, and left them with nothing, while he, the self-appointed ruler, lounged in his jeweled palace, comfortable while his people starved, protected by hired guards. The first night I heard of this, I had attempted to overtake him. I met him in one of the rooms of his new home.

"you promised" I reminded him, "that you wouldn't take the planet. You promised to let us be a free democracy!"

He had laughed. He told me that it was in the past, a desperate attempt to earn my alliance, and that it wasn't real, there was no proof, and had to be let go. Then, he'd had his guards drag me out, breaking my arm.

"you'll pay for this, Taa!" I had yelled, and was only rewarded with his chuckle.

It haunts my dreams now.

And for once, I, Cham Syndulla, leader one of the most powerful rebel tribes the galaxy has ever known, did not know what to do.


	2. Chapter 2

**For everyone's info, the speaking is all in the native Twi'lek unless indicated otherwise.**

_Huddle 'round, Ryloth children,_

_By history's wan light,_

_Hear now of the exploits of Cham Syndulla_

_Did you know, Ryloth children,_

_Of history's grand fight,_

_Of the villains sent scurrying by Cham Syndulla_

The voice of my friend, Gobi Glie, woke me up from my sleep. "Ugh, Gobi" I muttered, opening my eyes. I looked around and realized that he was outside the tent, singing. "great" I said to myself, pulling my clothes on. I walked out right when he finished, and was met by a round of applause and cheering. At first I thought it was for Gobi's beautiful voice, but then everyone started calling my name. I felt a burning sensation in my cheeks and my headtails. Gobi snickered a little.

"Blushing?"He murmured.

"did you have to sing that _right_ in front of our tent?" I muttered back angrily.

Gobi smiled, obviously meaning 'yes'. I sighed and rubbed my eyes, still a little sleepy. Just then the crowd was parted and a Twi'leck bolted through, right into our tent. I looked in to see a pale Twi'leck with black eyes staring back at me, his eyes glittering with mischief.

"What are you up to this time Voyla?" I said, smiling a bit.

"Hiding" he whispered, ducking under Gobi's desk.

I gave him a confused look, then decided not to ask. "Syndulla" I heard in a nasal voice. I turned around, thinking it was a droid, or a messenger sent by Taa. What I found was...well...a Gobi.

"Gobi" I said, "you're not trying to speak basic again, are you?" I asked.

He blushed, crossing his arms over his torso, meaning he was definitely embarrassed. I laughed, I couldn't help it, he was so adorable sometimes. "Gobi, come on. You can understand basic, you can speak Twi'leki, and you sing flawlessly. Just because some clone teased you about it doesn't mean that you have to try and learn a language you obviously can't speak." This may have come out a bit harsh, because Gobi looked hurt. Very hurt. He shifted his feet and tightened his arms around himself.

"yeas Cham" He said sullenly, and walked into the tent. I sighed. Then I heard Gobi scream and ran in. Was my best friend in trouble? Then I sighed as I realized it was because he had sat down at his desk and discovered Voyla. I rolled my eyes. "Relax Gobi" I said, putting my hand on his shoulder. Voyla emerged, laughing his head off. "Voyla" I said, trying not to smile. Voyla just rolled his eyes at me. Just then, another one of my men came running over.

"General Syndulla!" He said, looking scared. "Taa want's to speak to you again!"

I sighed in frustration. Again! He'd talked to me much over the past months, trying to get me to change my mind. But I furiously stayed put.

"Voyla" I said. Voyla turned around to look at me. "You go speak with Taa. I grow tired of him,"

Voyla nodded in excitement, and ran off

**I know it's short, I'll try to make the next one longer. Do you guys like it so far?**

**PS the next chapter won't be anyone's POV and Voyla's not an OC, or I wouldn't be using him so much. Him and Gobi are actually Cham's friends, you can look them up :)**


	3. Chapter 3

Voyla stared at the hologram as it flickered to life. His heart rate increased. He had never actually spoken with Senator Taa, and didn't know what to expect. As the blue hologram took the form of the fat Twi'leck,swathed in beautiful, costly-looking robes. Voyla couldn't help but growl. THIS man had betrayed them all. Senator Taa looked at him, surprised. "Where's Syndulla?" he asked.

"He got bored of you, apparently" Said Voyla, trying to keep an even temper. Already. It was indeed something that the man could infuriate you with his very presence, Voyla thought.

Taa sighed. "Savage, I did not spend my time to transmit your insect-hole so that I could talk to you. I want to speak to Syndulla!"

Voyla smiled. If it was THIS easy to get on Taa's nerves...he smiled. "_Syndulla_," He said, emphasizing the title, to mock Taa, "Dose't WANT to speak to you"

"Yes, but I want to speak to him!"

"We don't all get what we want" Said Voyla, smiling even wider. If this wasn't revenge, he didn't know what was. Well...except slicing Taa and all of his weak, power-hungry, credit-loving followers into tiny pieces. His smile got wider.

"What are you smiling about, savage?" Taa asked, contempt on his face.

"You're one to talk" Voyla muttered, just loud enough for Taa to hear him.

"Must I remind you that I led our people to victory and importance in the Senate" Taa sniffed.

Voyla fell to the ground, laughing and clutching his sides. "good one! I never took you for a joker, Taa!"

Senator Taa frowned. "It wasn't a joke".

"Wait, so nothing you've said so far is a joke? Wow."

Taa's face was getting more and more purple in frustration. "This conversation is OVER!" He screamed.

Voyla looked confused. "What conversation?"

"AAAAAAAAARRRGHHHHHHHHH!" Taa's hologram disappeared.

Cham, hearing the yelling, poked his head into the room. "Voyla?"

Voyla smiled. "Well, the leech is gone. That was fun, though"

Cham sighed. "Voyla, what did you...never mind, I don't want to know" Cham walked off. As Voyla walked out of the room, he saw a purple Twi'leck coming toward him. "Not again" He muttered under his breath, speeding up his walk. Tae Boon soon caught up with him.

"Voyla, whatever you did to Senator Taa in there may have put us in grave danger. We don't want to have him think we are mocking him."

Voyla rolled his eyes. "YOU just don't want Taa to think that, because you're AFRAID of him, why don't you just admit it?" He was so sick of Tae. Tae looked offended.

"May I remind you that I am second in command to Cham Syn-"

"Save it, you sound like Taa," Voyla cut him off. Just then, something hit him on the head. A rock. He looked up and gasped.

The ceiling was moving.

Cham ran up to him. "Voyla, get the people to safety! Taa's digging us out!" Voyla heard people screaming. He saw Gobi grab his guitar from his tent. He saw a huge piece of the roof fall down and crush a tent. Cham was herding the people toward the emergency exit. He grabbed Voyla's arm. "Voyla, we have to go!" He yelled over the noise of crashing rocks.

"No!" Said Voyla, feeling adrenaline rushing into his system. "We have to fight!" He ran forward. Just then, Cham grabbed his around the waist and pulled him down, just as a boulder crashed behind them.

"Voyla!" He yelled. "Stop being an idiot and GET THE HELL OVER TO THE EXIT!" He grabbed his arm and ran into the hole in the wall, shooting the entrance they had just come through and causing it to collapse. The light was cut out and they were left in complete darkness.

Voyla calmed down and took deep, even breaths to try and stop his racing heart. "Ch-cham?" He winced at his stutter.

"Over here." Voyla saw a torch flicker to life. " I think everyone's safe"

Suddenly, the hallway was lit as Cham put his torch to one of the lamps on the wall, igniting them all. "Is everyone all right?" Asked Cham. Voyla thought it might have been the torchlight, but did Cham look...guilty?. Cham turned toward another wall, pulling supplies from a hidden cupboard.

"He's prepared well" Said Tae from behind Voyla.

Voyla rolled his eyes. "Of course. He built this a long time ago, when we first moved here. I helped him build it."

Voyla strolled over and helped Cham unpack blankets, mats, a few stoves, firewood, and various preserved food items. He saw Gobi sit down in exhaustion, looking relieved that his precious guitar was saved.

"It was my fault, wasn't it?" Said Voyla sadly, sitting down on the hard ground next to Cham. Cham smiled and shook his head.

"No, it was mine. I saw the signs that Taa was planning this, I had a hunch he knew where we were. He was probably calling to tell us to surrender or he'd dig us out. I shouldn't have sent you to talk to him."

Voyla looked shocked and insulted.

"What do you mean? You mean you knew that he'd dig us out, but you didn't tell us?" Voyla almost screamed.

"I-I thought that I could prevent it...the people didn't have to know..." Cham stammered.

"ARE YOU INSANE? WE COULD HAVE DIED BACK THERE, BUT YOU JUST HAD TO KEEP IT A SECRET BECAUSE YOU WANTED IT TO LOOK LIKE EVERYTHING WAS OK, LIKE YOU WERE ACTUALLY DOING A GOOD JOB FOR ONCE?" Voyla was screaming now, and he didn't care who heard. He was _angry_. Angry that Cham never told anyone anything, Angry that their home had been destroyed, angry with everything. "AND WHAT DO YOU MEAN "SHOULDN'T HAE SENT ME? YOU THINK I'M GONNA FUCK EVERYTHING UP, DON'T YOU?"

Cham looked at Voyla with tears in his eyes. "Voyla...I-"

But Voyla was already gone.

Cham looked at his people, most of which were staring at him. "Um..." He felt his cheeks blushing.

"Cham" Said Gobi, from the back. "I think you have a lot of explaining to do"


	4. Chapter 4

**I'm really sorry that I kept switching from no one's POV to the people's POV and I know its a really immature thing to do. The rest of the story will be written in no one's POV.**

Cham stared back at all of the disbelieving eyes that were suddenly looking at him. Gobi came up and put an arm on his shoulder. "You knew, Cham?" Gobi said, looking up at his friend. Cham sighed.

"Yes, I did think something like this was going to happen." There was a collective gasp, then muttering.

"Why?" Someone said, looking devastated.

Cham was on the verge of tears. "I wanted to keep you safe. And I thought I could. I guess...I guess I'm not as invincible as I thought I was. I'm sorry. I know it's going to be hard to trust me after this, but I need you to. I promise I will get you through this." He could see the people were swayed by his words. They would not be quick to trust him, but he knew that they would again, eventually. He heard a sarcastic laugh in the back, and turned to see Voyla walking back to his tent, alone.

"Voyla, what is your problem?" Tae Boon's slightly commanding voice, that had not yet lost the arrogant tone of a noble, intruded Voyla's thoughts.

"What?" Voyla whipped his head around to face Tae.

"You've just yelled at your friend, embarrassed him in front of the people he trusts, and you actually just talked to me without saying something vulgar. What is the matter?"

"Nothing" Said Voyla sullenly, walking toward his tent. "Why do you give a damn?"

"Because I'm worried, Voyla" Said Tae, trying to wrap a brotherly arm around Voyla's shoulder. Voyla whacked him away angrily.

"You don't care about me, Tae, and we all know it. You're just trying to put on a show for Cham" Voyla's tone was accusatory, but Tae could see the hurt in his eyes.

"Voyla, stop trying to be a man. It's not working" This was obviously not the right thing to say. Voyla shoved Tae onto the floor.

"What's wrong with being a man? You should try it sometime" Voyla hissed, walking away.

The next morning, Cham woke up with a sad feeling in his stomach. Then he remembered what had happened the day before. He felt his hand falling asleep, and moved it out from underneath himself. As he did, he gasped as pain shot through his side.

"Cham?" Gobi said groggily, pushing himself up on his sleeping mat, "What's wr-" Gobi stopped in mid-sentence. "Oh. My. Gods."

"What? What is it?" Cham asked, feeling nauseous. His side stung and burned as if it were on fire.

"Cham, we have to get you medical attention! That rockfall Taa caused must have done something to you, because your hand is covered in blood!"

Cham looked down at his hand, which was indeed, covered in hot, red blood. He gingerly lifted his shirt to reveal a painful-looking wound. "It hurts more now that I see it" Cham muttered, trying to smile, show that he was ok. Gobi did not buy it.

"Cham, we need to get you to the medical tent, quickly." Gobi reached down toward Cham. Cham brushed him away.

"No Gobi, we have limited medical supplies left, and I should be the last one to use them. It was my fault that we lost most of them when the roof collapsed."

Gobi sighed. Cham could be so stubborn, always putting the people in front of himself. "Cham, you know I am not that strong, therefore I cannot cary you to the medical tent. Now please get up, or I will be forced to go and get Voyla." Voyla was always worrying about Cham, making sure he ate everything, making sure he slept, and getting scared beyond comparison when Cham was hurt. Cham didn't want to aggravate Voyla so early in the morning, so he sighed and allowed Gobi to help him up.

Tae was surprised to so Gobi helping Cham across the main area to the medical tent. In fact, he was surprised to see Cham walking toward the medical tent at all. Their leader never asked for help with anything, even injuries.

"Cham, Gobi, good morning. What is that matter?" Tae asked, trying to sound lighthearted. In truth, he was worried about Cham just as much as anyone else.

"Cham is hurt, from the rockfall that happened yesterday."

"Oh, yes, that's just awful to hear" Tae began to babble, "I mean, someone destroying your home, to try and kill you..." He trailed off when he was met by Gobi and Cham's stares. He knew he'd said too much.

"Need I remind you," Cham began, trying to keep his voice stable. "That not ten years ago, you were guilty of the same crime?"

Tae blushed shamefully. "No, I'm sorry, Cham. I do tend to go on about these things..." He lowered his head.

Cham's face relaxed into a smile. "It's all right, Tae, I was just teasing. Now, Gobi, if you don't mind shifting your right arm there..." Gobi and Cham walked off to the medical tent. Tae let out the breath he hadn't even known he'd been holding. Talking to Cham always made him stressed out. Not that he'd ever told Cham, but he always felt unwanted and inadequate. He turned around, almost running into Voyla.

"Watch where you're going!" Voyla snarled as Tae's headtails nearly hit him.

"Sorry" Tae lowered his gaze. He tried to brush past Voyla, but was stopped by Voyla throwing his arm out, hitting Tae in the chest.

"Where is Cham going?"

"To the medical tent. I think he was hurt"

Voyla shoved Tae aside, knocking him over, and rushed after Gobi.

Tae sighed.

Meanwhile, Taa smiled to himself as he began the second part of his plan.

"Ah, Syndulla, you think that what I did to your _home_ was bad?" He chuckled to himself, "This is only the beginning"

**Sorry I've been taking so long to update, please forgive me! Please, please, please review and tell me what you think!**


End file.
